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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. sharp — clever
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cold — not warm
  8. scale — size or range
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — to bear
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. scale — in music
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. scale — for weighing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com